A Fateful Return
by SubwayBossEmmett
Summary: After a long journey Owain, Inigo, and Severa and a few newcomers return back to their home and find a bit of trouble when trying to re-adjust after saving another world by defeating another dragon.


"Well that's everyone, looks like we're all accounted for."

"So that's really it then huh, we're really back?"

"It seems we've ended up back where we started, almost as if nothing ever happened..."

The trio of friends went quiet. They were finally home, or at least, were almost home. They were back at the Mila Tree, the ancient and unchanging tree. After a long journey to see a first sight of home to be the exact same as when you left it, that can go a long way to make one feel like nothing has changed despite all what may have happened.

Owain eventually broke the silence, "You know, after all that time I'm really going to miss everyone we left behind... especially Lord Leo."

"I'm sure we all feel that way Owain, we did go through a lot there, didn't we! I don't think I could ever forget Lord Xander, nor Peri for 'different' reasons…" Inigo shuddered.

"Lady Camilla really was something else I'll tell ya! Although I did find her taste in men end up being rather questionable." Severa remarked as she turned to Owain.

"Hey! Niles can be a very thoughtful guy when he warms up to you!" Owain felt the need to defend his fellow retainer.

"How how long that may take is obviously a different matter, however." Although Owain was at least mindful of how off putting the man he served with can be.

"I can't imagine how Lord Leo felt seeing both of his retainers marry into his family. Talk about finding people with dedication." Severa snickered at this idea, which had gotten the attention of a certain someone.

"I'm right here you know! Odin and I fell in love without consideration of silly titles or our places in life!"

The freshly arrived Princess from the Kingdom of Nohr had to speak up for herself and her husband.

"I'm the one who first suggested we actually get married anyway!" She boldly proclaimed, crossing her arms to assert whatever authority she could muster over her sibling's former retainers.

"Elise! I didn't mean for us to talk behind your back, I thought I saw you making sure the girls were alright. And try to remember to use Owain from now on."

Elise began to lose a bit of her composure, after learning so much about other's names it's been a hard adjustment for her, "Oh I said it again now didn't I… It's just that... changing a name is like changing the essence within."

Owain's eyes lit up, fueled by a burning passion he exclaimed, "MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! Elise, this is why we're destined to be together!" As he picked up Elise and spun her around getting the sad look off her face.

When serving as a retainer in Nohr, Owain had managed to find a special someone. Someone who not only learned to understand his particular manner of expression, but in fact fell in love with both it and him. That someone turned out to be his lord's sister, which happened to be fairly uncomfortable for the both of them, but regardless Elise and Owain were in love.

Their chosen daughter Ophelia excitedly added, "A family chosen by destiny!"

The two of them had a daughter together that ended up embracing the same way of living as her parents did after being so enraptured by the stories she heard growing up, and has dedicated her life to truly becoming the chosen one her parents have led her to believe she is.

"Yeah! None of the forces of the darkness will keep this chosen family apart!" Elise got to shout, as the family began to strike a rehearsed pose and laugh heroically afterwards.

Inigo and Severa looked at each other and sighed.

"I always thought one Owain was enough for anyone, and now we've got three of them now don't we."

Owain quickly responded, "You know Inigo, I thought we didn't even need a single philanderer but you know, here we are."

Severa spoke up before Inigo could say anything, "Please Owain, don't even pretend like this hopeless flirt was ever successful at hitting on girls."

"You mean the hopeless flirt that you fell so hopelessly in love with my darling?"

"Ugh, don't remind me…" Severa admitted while rubbing her temple.

As much as Severa doesn't like to admit it, she and Inigo did fall in love. Under the disguises of Laslow and Selena in Nohr these two found themselves getting closer and closer, as they were able to remind each other of home. It took awhile but Inigo was finally able to muster up the courage to officially confess to Severa rather than playfully flirt with her like always. Despite the looks they get from most when they tease each other in public, they really do enjoy playing back and forth with each other. It's just what they have done for so long, it's almost like nothing has changed for these two...

Just then Soleil came running up to the group hiding something behind her back, "Ah, mom I think I found something extra cute for you! Tada!"

Except for the fact that they also now had a child together, a girl named Soleil who is equal parts smiles and feisty. Someone who will stop at almost nothing to get a smile like hers on other faces.

"Why how thoughtful of you Sole- w-wait a second… where did you get this umbrella?" Severa had to do a quick double take at what her daughter had brought her.

"Oh, it was just a bit away from where we landed. I noticed it next to some scratches on some bark and it seemed untouched! Do you like it?" Soleil asked as she held out the umbrella as she awkwardly waited for her mother to take it.

Severa slowly reached out and grabbed the umbrella from Soleil thanking her, "It's lovely Soleil, but this might be the umbrella I lost right before we met that Anankos… guy... dragon thing."

Severa thought hard, trying to remember the last time she saw her umbrella. It was something she remembered packing but not having at the last second when she finally needed it in Nohr. I mean it matched her hair or at least what it used to look like, so how could you not bring it?

Inigo reluctantly had decided to interrupt his wife while she was lost in thought, "Err… Severa, I suppose this is not the best timing to tell you this but I believe it was lost after we met Mr. Anankos."

"What makes you so sure?" Who stopped pacing around to face the currently nervous Inigo.

Inigo gulped and answered, "Well right after you called me dependable for the first time I noticed it fell out of your bag and was going to return it…"

"Go on…" Severa said while pretending to act calm. It was quite clear however, she was not.

While rubbing his neck Inigo continued fully realizing how questionable his actions were, "Well in the middle of the battle... I needed to use it to hit one of our foes from a distance..."

"My umbrella? As a weapon?"

"It was surprisingly effective honestly, and look at it! It appears unharmed! I was going to grab it once we finished our little talk with Mr. Anankos, but I guess we got a bit wrapped up there with him, didn't we?" Inigo explained while being eager to wrap up the topic at hand and leave, but with nowhere to go.

Severa didn't know how to process what she just heard, she just knew that these actions were something only fitting of her beloved Inigo. She just stared at him for a bit before saying anything.

"I'm not quite sure what I should be mad at more, using my stuff as a weapon or leaving it to rot..." Severa sighed while rubbing her temples yet again.

Soleil went up to help make her mother a bit less frustrated, something she is quite familiar with, "Cheer up Mom! I don't see a problem, it didn't look like any of the marks on the trees were that old. You're acting like it's been years or something"

"Soleil, that's because it's been-"

Owain who had finished discussing his, Elise's and Ophelia's group performance returned and interrupted, "Severa, I mean… we really don't know how long it's been since we've left, or at least how long has passed here at least."

"I don't follow Owain." Severa said while crossing her arms in confusion

"I mean think about it, we really don't know anything about those crystals we got from Anankos. He had a history of not really explaining things, this could be just like the first time we well… you know…" Owain trailed off, realizing he might be touching a topic he's been ignoring for awhile.

"Know what Father?" Ophelia asked.

Inigo chuckled and shook his head. "You haven't said anything either, eh?"

"I'm getting a little lost here Dad." Soleil growing an uncharacteristic frown from trying to follow this conversation.

Severa let out another sigh yet again, "Well I guess we couldn't avoid this conversation forever, could we?"

Elise who was starting to feel lost as well asked,"So wait is there more than just coming from another world? Is this another one of your dark stories?"

The trio looked at each other as if they knew what each other was thinking.

Although the flurry of confusing gestures that arrived which subsequently turned into loud whispering quickly proved that they were not in synch as they first looked.

The six of them all stood in complete and utter stillness, all that could be heard was the wind blowing through the trees as if none of them were there. There was an obvious division, the three that knew what eventually need to be said and the other three that were hanging on every word despite none being said. The peace of the behemoth of the Mila Tree was drowned out by the anticipation. The long… and lasting… and lingering... and grueling anticipation.

…

...

Despite only being a few seconds there was a distinct unbearable air to the whole situation.

…

...

Inigo finally decided to step up to let the three others know that they're going to learn something important, with a slight pain in his voice he got out the words, "Look… we're going to need a minute to discuss this… about what you three know."

"Know about what Dad? We already got here what more do we need to know?" Soleil said with a frown, as she was not enjoying seeing both of her parents so distraught.

"You three need to learn about our past and where we come from… where we... actually come from." Severa struggled to say while couldn't make eye contact as she spoke.

The groups separated as Owain, Inigo and Severa agreed that they needed to discuss how they were to handle their dilemma at hand.

* * *

A few minutes had passed and Elise was growing increasingly impatient. It was one thing to learn the person closest to her was from another world, and not playing up a story like he normally does. It was another to learn that she had not known his real name for the longest time, even if it was still relatively close. What may push someone over the edge is when you're willing to leave your old life and family behind you'd hope you know all the information about what you're supposed to expect when you arrive in a new world.

Elise looked back over to see the three friends were still arguing in the distance. Owain in particular looked exasperated with Inigo and Severa. It didn't look like they were coming to any agreement any time soon.

"What could be so confusing about their home that they need to start arguing away from us? I think if we've come this far we deserve to know!" Elise began to pout.

"Mother, I'm sure Father has had a good reason for all of this. He's seemed a lot more… less himself than usual" Ophelia said trying to rationalize the situation to her mother. She wasn't sure if this was the exciting backstory she always wanted to hear or a saddening truth about her father, and it did make Ophelia uncomfortable as well too.

"Yeah, usually my mom gets more mad than quiet any time there's a problem. This is definitely something more serious than we know. I think we'll just have to wait it out but hey look on the bright side, we still managed to make it here safely and all together!" Soleil rationalized while trying to calm the former princess down. This entire event went the opposite way Soleil wants out of a day, instead of people being happy she just sees everything as confusing and doesn't know how to help fix it at all, but still is doing her best to lighten the mood.

Elise sighed and knew the two girls were right. She decided they needed some way to pass the time as she checked back to see her husband's arms flailing about in disagreement with the other two. She knew it still had a long way to go before they heard anything from them.

"Well, if they're not going to tell us anything anytime soon, how about we just figure it out ourselves!" Elise exclaimed they needed some way to pass the time clearly.

Elise personally couldn't think of any particular hints Odin gave her back in Nohr so she turned to her daughter, "Ophelia, has dad said anything to you that was particularly strange or specific about his home?"

"It would be easier to ask what isn't strange or specific with their dad..." Soleil joked under her breath.

Ophelia did her best to recollect, and what able to quickly stand out in her mind was how her Father addressed a mark on her arm, "Hmm, now that I think about it, there was one time Father said he would explain everything about a mark on my arm being from his home and making a tough choice… Although it is hard to tell whether that was him playing up his 'talents' or not… Hrm, I think he wanted me to keep quiet about my chosen marking despite it being rather unremarkable..."

"Wait… a tough choice… a tough choice… oh I heard this...oh... Oh!" Soleil shouted.

"My dad said something along those lines as well one time! I remember it because I don't think I've seen my dad had his smile drop off his face like that. He said something about… meeting his mother again, but somehow after she died."

"After she died? That makes no sense though!" Elise had begun to ponder as she began to stroke her chin clearly trying to make heads or tails of what Soleil said.

"That's what I said!" exclaimed Soleil, feeling incredibly validated after harboring the confusion for so long.

Soleil continued with what she was able to remember, "...although, he did also say he would have explained 'the truth' to me... but I cut him off because it looked too painful for him. I guess now is the time to hear whatever that is, or whenever Mom, Dad and Uncle Odin, er Owain stop arguing, but I'm sure it'll be soon."

Elise's idea hadn't gotten the three of them very close to finding an answer but it at least gave them something to do rather than just waiting and feeling small next to the tree. Soleil, Ophelia and Elise were still each trying to think of any hints, direct or subtle that they got from their families.

Ophelia's mind in particular was still hard at work trying to remember everything her dad said. It's understandable how it would be hard to keep your thoughts clear when you hear so many delightful adventures and devilish evils to overcome it's hard to remember about one specific tale. There was something there she could tell was hidden like the sanctuary of Arcadia lost within the desert.

After a few more moments of group thinking, Ophelia got the chance to add some more information to the group. "I believe another misplaced memory has returned to me! When I first heard about my chosen mark, Father said something about crossing the boundaries of time itself."

"I mean can we say that was serious? Or was it just more Odin-speak and stories? Although... I guess that's Owain-speak now…" Elise also mumbled to herself.

"Well… Father was uncharacteristically emotional about the whole event, even more so than now. I swear precious gems could have befallen from his face. The possibility that it was falsified seems slim."

"Ophelia, you're getting hard to understand again." Soleil informed her friend.

"Oh excuse me, Father said need to practice tempering my chosen tongue a bit around the non-chosen ones in this new world. What I meant to say was that my Father looked like he was going to cry when telling me about those moments, and that's typically the last emotion he has when retelling stories." Ophelia explained while wistfully thinking back on how sad her Father was on that day.

Elise, Ophelia, and Soleil didn't know what to make of what they've heard back in Nohr. They all sat around trying to process anything they've heard as they watch the trio of friends get to bicker back and forth at each other, hoping that they were to finish up soon.

* * *

After many minutes of arguing had passed by Owain, Inigo, and Severa were finally getting close to singling someone out, or more specifically Inigo and Severa were trying to single out Owain.

"Think about it Owain, you already have to convince two people what's one more?" Inigo tried pleading to his friend.

"Besides it's better to have one story that we can verify than two separate ones, it would just be less confusing for them," Severa added trying to get Owain on board.

"You two ganging up on me like this is just as cold as the Ending Winter! No wonder why you're perfect together..." Owain was growing increasingly expressive at how unfavorable he found the state of their 'discussion' in.

"See, that's the spirit Owain! You can make this exciting for all three of them!" Inigo said placing his hand on his friend's back.

Owain rolled his eyes, while he removed his friend's hand from his back.

"Alright, Owain just think about it. Would you rather have me or Inigo tell the story of how we got to heroically save our world without giving it justice?" Severa smugly asked, knowing she sealed the deal.

Owain went completely silent for a few moments with a growing frown.

"..."

"..."

"Owain? It is quite concerning to see you not saying anything." Inigo joked while staring at his clearly frustrated friend.

"Fine. You win, I'll be the one who says what happened… but what makes you think any of them will even believe what I have to say?" Owain said defeatedly as he dragged his hand across his face

"Oh come on Owain, if anything you of all people should be used to people not believing what you have to say!" Severa who was happy to remind Owain of life back home as she nudged him on the shoulder.

Owain not having any of it, took a few steps back and announced, "I've never had to get my wife or daughter hear, let alone BELIEVE I'm from a dark and post-apocalyptic future! That's a little different than what I usually talk about!"

"Eh, I'm sure you'll be fine. You three all understand each other, right?" Severa responded while shrugging her shoulders.

"Just because someone can understand doesn't mean they believe it, Severa... Just like I can't believe you're singling me out like this! Regardless even if Elise and Ophelia did believe any of this what makes you think Soleil will?" Owain once again questioned while he was getting worn down by his friends.

"Because we'll tell them first that what they're going to hear is all true." Inigo confidently claimed.

Owain reluctantly asked them, "Do you really mean that? You two have a history of not backing me up sometimes when it comes to me explaining things to others."

Inigo quickly assured his friend, "Oh come on Owain, do you not believe we've matured since we were younger? Besides we're parents now aren't we! We're a bit more accountable now, or at least should be..."

"So yeah, we'll vouch for your story ahead of time, but you have to agree on a few conditions!" Severa spoke up.

"If it gets you to back up something I would say, let's hear the rules then." Owain was intrigued at the fact Severa would be able to let him tell a story not only featuring himself but also her and Inigo.

Severa laid down some ground rules for their arrangement. It was agreed upon that Owain was allowed to retell events in his own way as long as they were true to what happened and did not portray himself better than anyone of their friends or parents.

"So in other words, no over-exaggeration like you fought off an army by yourself when Chrom and the others found you, but you're allowed to say how 'super special awesome' it was when you saw Chrom for the first time or something." Severa summarized for Owain

"Super special awesome?" Owain scoffed.

"That's not how I talk Severa! That's like an abridged take on how I would retell any heroic meeting between two bearers of the Brand of the Exalt with the blood of the chosen heroes!" Owain exclaimed, ready to show off where his brand used to be.

Owain was ready to lecture her on how to speak like a true chosen one, but Severa stopped him before he could get going, "Well, whatever. What do you think about the rules?"

Regaining his composure, Owain calmly agreed, "They appear to be reasonable if I'm allowed to talk up how heroic everyone else was as well."

"So it's finally agreed upon then!" Inigo was excited to say, who was growing quite tired of this whole charade of a debate.

"Let's get this over with! I bet the girls are bored out of their mind from waiting for us." Severa added as she was also eager to move on. The three friends decided to make their way back to the spot where Elise, Ophelia, and Soleil were ever so patiently waiting.

"Have no fear! They couldn't possibly be bored once they hear what tale of dashing heroics we were apart of!" Owain said with a grin while rubbing his hands together already planning what details to focus on.

Inigo stopped walking and turned to Owain and had to ask "Er, it seems like you have become almost excited to tell them what happened now... I thought you were against it just a bit ago?"

Owain stopped as well and explained to Inigo,"Well with you guys swearing to back me up it's a bit less intimidating, but also think about it!

"About what?"

"We have one of the greatest stories in history! A fantastical story of twists and turns on par with other stories of legend! Someone should write our stories down sometime… although, I did always want to write my own novel someday..." Owain trailed off yet again to think about future stories to tell for the world.

"Not to mention we ended up help saving more than one world too didn't we? So there's more than one story for you to write about Owain. Although the second time I'd say I did a bit more than both of you, as Lady Camilla and I helped out Corrin way before either of you!"

"Oh, gods here we go again…" Inigo groaned knowing Severa was going to bring up that moment

Severa never got tired of reminding him of how Laslow acted to her, "And I didn't go up against my longtime 'friend' shouting 'as Lord Xander's retainer, I must remove anyone in his path' and 'Hey, why are you staring?' as if I didn't know who you are!"

Inigo tried to apologize for fighting her as soon as they joined the same side, but Severa knew how easily she could keep this over his head.

"Gods Severa how, many times must I tell you I'm sorry, I clearly didn't want to fight you!" As Inigo desperately pleaded for her to drop this topic.

"But you did anyways because Xander was your Lord, and if I didn't know better-"

Cutting Severa off he finished her thought for her, "Yes I know, 'if you didn't know better, you would have guessed I loved Xander more than you' and that's why I totally didn't let you win and not have a beautiful daughter with you."

Owain decided he needed to cut off the bickering couple before this got too out of hand.

"Please stop, I've heard this enough about this already, you two have the rest of your lives to argue about this. I think we should finally get back to Elise and the girls. I think I saw Elise's face light up and fade sadly when we stopped walking towards them."

Inigo was glad to see Owain managed to break off Severa's story and agreed, "We've definitely have been avoiding this for too long. Are you ready Owain?"

"Of course! My blood has been aching to reveal the truth of my lineage for ages!" As Owain grabbed his arm as if he were unable to control it.

"Well then let's make our way down back!" Severa commanded taking charge leading the two boys behind her. It was finally time they actually explain their future they left and the past they saved! ...even if they were more just supporting roles.

* * *

_And that's the first Chapter!_

_Well writing a Fanfic was a bit more work than I thought, and I immediately forgive any writer taking a long time while in-between chapters. I have to say though, I really enjoyed it when it's all said and done and I hope you enjoyed reading this as well! I'm already well aware I'm not going to get out the next chapter any time soon..._

_I want to say thanks to Branded_King and ClearlyInvisible for helping me get from having a rough draft to a finished copy. _

_So yeah if you got any thoughts whether good or bad about the story don't be scared to share them!_


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